Essex player pours alcohol on British Muslim teammate while celebrating county title win

Essex defeated Somerset on first innings runs in the final of the recently-concluded Bob Willis Trophy 2020. The match was contested at the iconic Lord’s Stadium in London behind closed doors in wake of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Amidst the celebrations and jubilations displayed by Essex players, the cricket club seems to have landed in trouble with a fresh controversy.

Essex players lift Bob Willis Trophy

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On Monday, September 28, i.e. one day after the Bob Willis Trophy final, the Essex Cricket Club shared a 29-second video of their players celebrating their win in the Lord’s dressing room. In the video, a player can be seen pouring alcohol on his teammates. While such celebrations have been a part of the English cricketing culture for many years, the celebration became a moment of controversy because a Muslim player named Feroze Khushi was also part of the huddle that took in alcohol over his head by their teammate. While 21-year-old Feroze Khushi was not part of Essex’ final playing XI, the right-handed batsman had represented his side in the earlier stages of the recently-concluded Bob Willis Trophy.

Bob Willis Trophy: Feroze Khushi among Essex players in team’s celebration video, watch

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Quite recently, the Essex Cricket Club released an official statement. The club said “as an organisation, Essex County Cricket Club prides themselves on their work within multi-diverse communities throughout the county and the surrounding areas”, thus referring to the presence of players from different cultural backgrounds in their set-up. Speaking about the Bob Willis Trophy’s celebration controversy, the club revealed they will further work on widening their people’s knowledge for creating cultural awareness and they are currently in dialogue with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

Sajid Patel, from England-based National Cricket League, recently spoke with ESPNCricinfo to give his take on the matter. Patel was of the opinion that club cricket in England should follow the celebrations protocol applied by their national cricket team. He cited the example of how England’s national team refrain themselves from using alcohol in trophy presentations in order to include two of their regular players, Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid.

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Image source: Essex Cricket Twitter